03/18/2026
We love our TB mares! We cross them with our very nice Lusitano stallion for some outstanding sport horses. We are excited to see how they continue to mature, while our mares continue to produce top quality prospects!
A recent article which asserted that Americans can’t breed good horses is getting lots of flak, and it should.
Part of the article (which, full disclosure, I haven’t seen), apparently was especially critical of USA OTTB mares, so I went onto the Finger Lakes Finest Thoroughbreds site, and immediately found this mare, Kressa La Wrote.
https://www.pedigreequery.com/kressa+la+wrote
I haven’t seen her, but I can read. She ran 16 times, won just over $100,000. She is by a good stallion named Wrote, who was a grade 1 stakes winner.
So if I were looking for a mare to breed from, and most especially if I wanted an athletic mare with speed and a bit of grit, and if I wanted a cross-bred, either RID or some warmblood, this is exactly the sort of mare that would be on my radar screen.
American Thoroughbreds that are sound and tough enough to get through training, get to the track, and bring home checks tend to be tough and athletic. Racing is harder than most horse sports, and if a mare had what it took to race, she probably has the quality to breed from.
I have bought several mares that raced at Finger Lakes, and one of them, Rosie’s Girl, went on to become an advanced level event horse. Anyone who dismisses American Thoroughbreds has probably not ridden and competed many of them, the way I have.
Now look, I am not specifically endorsing this mare, but she has the record that tells me she could dig in, she is at a good price range, and there are all sorts of horses pretty close up in her pedigree who were VERY good.
My point is that of all the bargains out there, the most bang for the least buck, I can’t think how anyone can find as much class and quality as we see right here in our own back yard coming daily and weekly out of racing. Should we take precautions? Absolutely. Can just anyone retrain an OTTB? Probably not. But for a horse that is like that old Timex ad, “takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin” where will you find anything like our good Thoroughbreds?
